What does deuterate mean?
Deuterate is a specialised scientific verb meaning to treat a substance with deuterium — the heavy isotope of hydrogen that carries one neutron in addition to its single proton. In practice, chemists deuterate compounds either fully or selectively, replacing some or all of their ordinary hydrogen atoms with deuterium. The resulting materials are invaluable in research: because deuterium resonates at a different frequency from hydrogen in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, deuterated solvents such as chloroform-d allow scientists to observe only the signals of the sample being studied. Deuteration also finds uses in neutron scattering experiments and pharmaceutical development, where it can subtly alter how drugs are metabolised. The word belongs firmly to technical register, appearing mainly in laboratory reports and journal articles rather than everyday speech, though its adjective form 'deuterated' is common in scientific literature.
verbTo treat or combine a substance with deuterium (heavy hydrogen), typically replacing the ordinary hydrogen atoms in a molecule with deuterium atoms.
- (chemistry) To replace the hydrogen in a substance with deuterium, wholly or partially, by chemical treatment.
"The researchers deuterated the solvent so they could trace each hydrogen exchange step by NMR spectroscopy."
"To assign the proton signals unambiguously, the team selectively deuterated the methyl groups of the ligand."
"Commercial chloroform is often sold in a deuterated form for use as an NMR solvent."
Swap every hydrogen atom in a molecule for its heavier twin and you get the same chemistry — but a compound you can track atom by atom under an NMR spectroscope.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deuterate
Deuterate derives from deuterium, coined in the early 1930s by American chemist Harold Urey, who discovered the isotope and took its name from the Greek deuteros, meaning 'second', since deuterium was the second-known isotope of hydrogen. Greek deuteros itself comes from duo, 'two'. The same root gives us deuteron (the nucleus of deuterium), the prefix deutero- (as in deuterocanonical), and Deuteronomy, literally the 'second law'. The suffix -ate marks the verb form, following the pattern of other chemical verbs such as hydrate and nitrinate.
Related word forms
How deuterate is actually used
Strictly technical vocabulary confined to chemistry, spectroscopy, and related laboratory sciences; it would sound out of place in general prose. The past participle 'deuterated' functions adjectivally far more often than the bare verb appears, especially in phrases like 'deuterated solvent'. Both British and American usage favour /ˈdjuː-/ and /ˈduː-/ respectively for the first vowel.
Easily confused with deuterate
Deuterium is the heavy isotope of hydrogen itself, whereas deuterate is the verb meaning to introduce that isotope into a substance.